Fortified Wine

Amontillado Sherry

Amontillado is sherry aged twice over: first under flor like a fino, then, once the flor has gone, in contact with air, which turns it amber and nutty. It stays bone dry, and our recipes take it at about 17%. It splits the base of the Sherry Cobbler with palo cortado and floats on a Fog Cutter.

Quick Facts

ABV17% ABVThe Consejo Regulador allows 16 to 22%; our recipes take 17%.

Legal categoryFortified wineUsually a liqueur wine (15 to 22%) under Regulation (EU) 1308/2013; the Consejo Regulador's 2026 specification also allows amontillado as plain wine. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry is a protected designation of origin on Defra's register

OriginJerez, Spain

Flavour Strengthmedium

Our keeping timeUp to two months once opened, stoppered, per the Consejo Regulador; in our experience the fridge keeps the aroma longer.

Storage

Unopened: upright, cool and dark. Once opened: we keep it stoppered, ideally in the fridge, and serve it a little warmer than fino.

Allergens

Contains: sulphites.

The ingredient

About Amontillado Sherry

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

HazelnutCaramelDried citrusSaline echo

Tasting Notes

Hazelnut and toffee over the ghost of fino salinity, dry on the finish with dried-peel brightness. The two ageing lives are both audible.

Flor first, then air

An amontillado starts as a fino: Palomino wine at 15% under a film of flor. In time the flor thins and disappears, and the wine begins a second, oxidative stage that darkens it and concentrates it. The Regulador describes the style by that double ageing, and the strength can climb as high as 22% over the years.

Between fino and oloroso

The double life puts it between its neighbours. It has more colour and nut than fino, less weight than oloroso, and a saline trace from its years under yeast. Like both, it is dry. A recipe that asks for it usually wants that combination: some weight, no sugar. The Consejo Regulador's 2026 specification holds amontillado at 16 to 22%, where fino is now 14 to 17%, and no longer requires any of the three to be fortified.

Amontillado among the dry sherries (Consejo Regulador)

Fino

Fortified to: Usually 15%
Ageing: Flor only
Strength: 14 to 17%
Serve at: 6 to 8°C

Amontillado

Fortified to: Usually 15%, sometimes more later
Ageing: Flor, then air
Strength: 16 to 22%
Serve at: 12 to 14°C

Oloroso

Fortified to: Usually at least 17%
Ageing: Air only
Strength: 17 to 22%
Serve at: 12 to 14°C

Style	Fortified to	Ageing	Strength	Serve at
Fino	Usually 15%	Flor only	14 to 17%	6 to 8°C
Amontillado	Usually 15%, sometimes more later	Flor, then air	16 to 22%	12 to 14°C
Oloroso	Usually at least 17%	Air only	17 to 22%	12 to 14°C

The backbone of a cobbler

The IBA's Sherry Cobbler splits 90ml of sherry between amontillado and palo cortado, shaken hard for ten to twelve seconds with sugar and citrus and strained over crushed ice. In the Fog Cutter a 15ml float gives a dry, nutty top to a long tropical drink.

It keeps far longer than fino

In our experience an open bottle does not collapse the way fino does, because the wine has already aged in air for years. The Consejo Regulador puts it at up to two months. Keep it stoppered, preferably in the fridge, and take the chill off before pouring it neat.

Using it

Using Amontillado Sherry

Usage

45ml shares the Sherry Cobbler's base with 45ml palo cortado, shaken with sugar and citrus wheels and strained over crushed ice. In a Fog Cutter 15ml is floated over the back of a bar spoon onto the finished drink.

Pro Tip

In a cobbler, crushed ice dilutes fast. Amontillado's dryness stops the teaspoon of sugar taking over as the ice melts, so resist adding more sugar to a cobbler that tastes sharp at the first sip.

Top Tips

Serve it at 12 to 14°C, cooler than room but warmer than fino. Straight from the fridge the nut goes quiet.
A bottle labelled "medium" has been sweetened; for our recipes buy one labelled simply amontillado.
Pour the float last and slowly, over the back of a bar spoon, so it sits on the drink.

Possible Substitutions

Palo Cortado: Its partner in the cobbler: fuller in body, with a similar nose
Fino Sherry: For a lighter, saltier drink with less nut
Oloroso Sherry: Fuller and darker; still dry

Production Method

Palomino wine aged first under flor as a fino, then, after the flor fades or the wine is fortified further, aged in contact with air in criaderas and solera.

History & Context

Amontillado starts life as a fino. When the flor fades, or the cellar fortifies the wine past the strength flor can bear, oxidative ageing takes over, and the wine darkens year by year. Edgar Allan Poe borrowed the name for his story "The Cask of Amontillado".

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is amontillado sherry?

A dry sherry that ages in two stages. It begins under flor as a fino, pale and saline; then the flor disappears and air reaches the wine, which slowly turns amber and develops hazelnut and dried-peel notes. The Consejo Regulador allows 16 to 22% ABV, with sugar capped at 4g per litre.

How is amontillado different from fino?

Time with air. Fino stays under flor all its life and is bottled pale. Amontillado carries on after the flor has gone, gaining colour, nut and a little strength, while keeping a trace of fino's salt. The Consejo Regulador gives an open fino up to a week and an open amontillado up to two months.

Is amontillado sweet?

A plain amontillado is dry, its sugar held to four grams a litre or less by the Consejo Regulador's specification. Sweetened blends are sold under other names, such as medium, which the specification sets from 4g to under 115g. For our recipes, buy the dry one: the Sherry Cobbler adds its own sugar.

How long does amontillado keep once opened?

Up to two months, stoppered, according to the Consejo Regulador, because years of ageing in contact with air have already done what an open bottle does to a fino. Kept in the fridge it holds its aroma longest. Let a glass warm a little before drinking it neat.

What cocktails use amontillado?

Two of ours. The Sherry Cobbler, following the IBA, pairs it equally with palo cortado and shakes both with sugar and citrus. The Fog Cutter floats 15ml on a rum, gin and cognac drink, where Trader Vic's printed version used cream sherry.

What can I use instead of amontillado?

For the cobbler, palo cortado can fill both halves if amontillado is the bottle you lack. In the Fog Cutter float, fino gives a lighter, saltier top and a dry oloroso a heavier one. Avoid cream sherry unless you want the sweeter original.

Sources.

Correct as of 16 October 2026.

Consejo Regulador (sherry.wine), “Amontillado”.
Consejo Regulador (sherry.wine), “Fortification”.
Consejo Regulador (sherry.wine), “Conservation & Serving”.
Consejo Regulador Jerez-Xérès-Sherry / Junta de Andalucía, “Pliego de condiciones de la DOP «Jerez-Xérès-Sherry» (consolidated to the Order of 13 May 2026)”.
Defra, Protected geographical food and drink names (GOV.UK), “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry / Jerez / Xérès / Sherry”.
Defra, Protected geographical food and drink names (GOV.UK), “Amontillado”.
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex VII, Part II (retained)”.

From the Guides

Flor, air and amontillado

Make something

Made with Amontillado Sherry

Featured In These Cocktails

Sherry Cobbler Fog Cutter

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 16 October 2026

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